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Tuesday, December 09, 2014

Why the US Chamber of Commerce is Wrong about Smog in National Parks

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is ramping up its campaign to derail more health-protective national smog standards. Get ready for lots of hyperbole and misleading propaganda!

The Chamber, which has opposed clean air controls for many years, rolled out a new ditty claiming that under EPA's proposed new standards, a dozen national parks would be in violation -- as if to argue that the standards would be so strict that they could not be met because of naturally occurring conditions.

Many national parks on this US Chamber’s list are great examples
of why the revised ozone standard is needed so park visitors can breathe clean air. A number of these parks are
heavily impacted by air pollution transported there from urban areas, and in
several cases, oil & gas production. In a few cases, the culprit might be forest fires, and the US EPA has a policy that permits exemptions in those situations.

Dinosaur Natl. Monument – heavily affected by oil & gas
production pollution in the Uintah Basin during the winter -- this
human-related nearby pollution can cause higher ozone pollution spikes than
seen in Los Angeles. It’s extremely misleading to think of this park as
not being heavily polluted by nearby energy businesses.

Joshua Tree Natl. Park – heavily affected by smog from Los
Angeles – probably has the worst air quality of any park in the country, and
people are causing it.

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